NAVC celebrates the arts at VMX

The 2025 Veterinary Meeting & Expo (VMX), hosted by the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC), began Saturday, January 25, and runs through Wednesday, January 29. In an interview with dvm360, Gene O’Neill, CEO of NAVC, discussed the organization’s largest attendance to date and this year’s unique theme.

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The following is an edited transcript of the video:

Gene O’Neill: VMX is the crown jewel in our portfolio. Obviously, it's the it is the largest educational expo event in the world for veterinarians, and we take a great pride in that. But there also comes a responsibility with that too, because [in] this facility, and as large as it is, this year we're expecting nearly 30,000 of our closest veterinary professional friends, and it could get a little tricky sometimes in coordinating where people go at what time to different sessions. But we were able to segment it so that if you're a veterinary technician or veterinary nurse, you can stay in a certain area.

This year, our theme was Festival of the HeArts. And it really is a festival when you walk around the floors and you hear the excitement, you see the colors from all the paintings that are out there. We have a gallery on the expo floor of paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures; all designed and produced by veterinarians or other professionals in this space. Not only do you get to see the painting, but there are also audio clips that you can listen to on your app about the about the artist, [and] what they were thinking when they designed the piece. You can even purchase the piece. You can donate the piece. So, it's really pretty cool, the way we set this whole thing up this year.